Switch thrower



' July 6 1926.

G. B. WILKINSON SWITCH THROWBR' Filed Sept. 1 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z;madman Patented July 1926; I

GEORGE it WILKINSON, or onnnxsnuns wnsrvinG iiIn.

' -j "sw'xwon THROWER Application filed'sebteihbem mzs; seri l rm-53,910}

This invention relates means ofwhich a switch point maybe ad justedinorder to control themovement; of'a'; -car and cause 'itctoeitherfproceed along the" V main track or pass onto a from the maintrack; 5 v, I i One object ofthe invention is'to so construct' theapparatus that adjustment of the switch may be controlled by the,inotorrnan of a car without it being necessary to alight from the car,Whe'n'itis necessary f or the 'fmotorman or conductor toalightfrom thecar and adjust the switchto thedesired po- ;sition and then return tothe car, loss of time I" is involved and-in addition ,itis necessary '7for the motorman to leave the car withouta i 7 person of properauthority in control of itf.

o Another object of theinvention i-istoPfso 7 construct the trackcarried-mechanism ofthe switch control apparatus that it may be enclosedin a housing where it ,will be pro-- tected from exposure to the weatherand prevented from being clogged by-'snow, ice ordirt. fl Another objectof the inventionis to so 1 form the housingthat an open-ended trough mayextend through the housing} to receive plungers forming part uo'f thecar carried acf. tuating mechanism and 'haveithe trough' divided intoseparate passages to receive-the plungers so that when one plunger ismoved to an operative position" there will be n'o danger of theswitchpoint being improperly set.

ably held in adepressed operative position and automatically returnedtothe elevatedv or inoperative position after the switch point has beenadjusted. V

' Another. object of the'inv'e'ntion is. to'so form and mount thelatches for'the plungers that they maybe moved to an operative p0:

' sition by the plungers when the .plungers ter-the switch point hasbeen set; a u

panying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a view showing a portion on trackin top plan and the track; carried mechanism in longitudinal section "onthe. f line1 1ofFig.2; -=Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional viewthroughtrackjbranching f The track carriedsinechanis Another object ofthe inventionis to so mount the plu ngers of the-car carried actuatingmechanlsm that they may be releasare moved to anoperativepositio-n'f'and moved toirelease the plungers-throu'gh =engagement withabutmentsjin'the trough a tr This invention is illustrated in thehcoom-V steak use aahasiaiwah amt; form ory floor of ,tlie carshown in sectionandjtheicar carr1ed :-1Inechanism in'front ele-, t

Fig. ,3 is a sectional view taken; ofn the vationpand j o I vline3+3.-of- Fig.j2 I H The apparatus forming I the subj ect matterofthis invention-permits the switch 'pointll" r V to be swung'transversely)" of the frog 2 -;so

thata earimovinglalong the-railsB of the ,mmahn -Qtbre kage m y p ed to'contlnue along the; main i onto, the rails 4 constitutingja branch lineo si es-track The :.,;:ra 1'si are, f ours L mounted upon the 1usualftiesfi and are. act, .a

conventional jconstruction; f1 1 in'a housing 6 formed of metal,oraan'y'other suitable material and at its sides iprot ided iszcontainedne orbe guided V are provided for the housing 1' at opposite sides ofthe trough 9 and releasably held in I place by fasteners 14 whichpreferably con sist of bolts so that the coverplates-may upper portionofthe housing with ashes. tom spaced frointhe bottom of thethou'sing,asshown inFig; 2. A hollow side arm .15

extends' transversely from; the forward end" portion-of the housing andof *suchylength be easily removed when necessary: :It should be notedthat the trough extends through'thef r that, when the'housing isrsecuredto the ties as shownin Fig. 1, the outer end portion of the arm 15 maextend intoa'niopening 16 formed in the rog 2 ofithe'track.

at one end in an opening formed transversely'through the switch pointvextends -longi-- tudinally through the side arm 15 of the housingwithits inner endportion extend v ing into thehousing and pivotallyconnected 1 E with the forwardend ot-arockr bar 18 a which is disposedlongitudinally of the housing and pivotally mountedupon a postThe-drawbar or-Tlink 17 whichis' 'secured i 19 projecting upwardly fromthebottoin'of' g the housingbeneath the troughfiAt its" for-1 I crossbar section and the lever 23being'con5 Ward end the rocker .bar ispivotally connectedwith a crossbar consistingof a main section and ashort auxiliary section 21 pivoted to the main section. Levers22 and 23extend longitudinally ofthe housing at opposite'sides of the trough andare pivotally mounted upon posts 24 arising from the floor of thehousing and each'lever has its rear end portion bent downwardly, as

shown in Fig. 2, and pivotally connected with the cross bar, the lever22' being connected with the outer end of the auxiliary nected with theouter end of themain section of the cross bar. At their forward'ends thelevers are formed with side arms 22 and 23" which are adapted toalternately move through the openings 25 formed in the side walls of thetrough and extend transversely across the passages 11 and 12 forengagement by plungers forming part ofthe car carried actuating means.

The'car carried actuating mechanism includes a'bracket formed, as shownin'Fig; 3,

and; including a head board 26 and a de pending forwardly inclined arm27-, the head board being secured to the under face of the car platformor floor 28 by bolts or other suitable fasteners 29 and the dependingarm being strengthened by a braceBO disposed at an inclinebetwee'n'theends of the arm,

' Sleeves 81 are provided at the lower forward end of the arm 27 andbraced by webs 32 and serve a slidably mount :plungers 83 and 34. Theseplungers are-provided with up wardly extending rods 33 and 34- of alength to extend through the floor or platform of the car and at theirupper ends terminate in heads upon which the motor-man is to place hisfoot when forcing the plungers dow wardlyagainst the action of thesprings85 coiled about therods and serving to yieldably retain theplungers in an elevated and inoperative position. At its lower end eachplunger is-formed with a notch or recess 36' adjacent the upper end ofits curved and for wardly inclined lower end. The plungers .have theirlower ends curved, as shown in Fig. 35 so that when moved downwardlythey may easily force the elongated latches 37 downwardly to a dependingposition against the action of the springs 38v coiled about the pin 39upon which the latches are pivotally tion it will be firmly held againstreturn to the inoperativeor elevated position'without it being.necessary for the motorman to keep his foot upon the head of theplunger. It

should befurther inoted'that the latch is of 1y,

such length that when the plunger is moved downwardly and secured by thelatch the lower end portion offthe latch extends below the lower end ofthe plunger to such an ex tent that it may engage with the abutment 4:1in the bottom of'ithe trough compartment through which it moves. 7 v

When the improved switch'point adjusting apparatus is in use, thehousing (i is secured" upon the ties with the outer end porformed inthefrog 2 and the'outer end pertion of the link secured in an openingdrilled or otherwise formed in the switch: point. When the switch pointis positioned to direct a car along the maintrack, the rocker bar isdisposed as shown in Fig. l-with the tion of the arm 15 fitted in theopening 16 1 side arm of the lever 23 ro ectin into the compartment 12of the trough. Whena car approaches the intersection of the side trackwith the main line and it is desired to have the car moved from-"themain line onto the side track,' the motormanpresses downwardly upon thehead of theplunger and forces this plunger doWnward-ly'to the positionshownln Figs. 2 and 3 1n whlch position it will be securely held by itscooperating latcln The car is'then advanced and as the depressed plungerpasses througl'l the compartnient 12,"its lower end portion engages theside arm of the lever 23 and swings the side arm forwardly.

turn and its arm move outwardly through the slot in'the slde wall of thetrough; At the same time a pushing action will be exerted upon the crossbar 20 and the rocker bar swung upon its pivot 19 to push upon the linkor drawbar 17 and force the switch point to a. position to engage thewheels of the car and'direct the car onto the side track. At the sametime the lever 22 will be swung to project its side arm into the"compartment 11 of the trough so that if a following car is to proceedalong the maintrack the side arm ofthelever 22 may be engaged by theplunger 33 which will be depressed and re store the switch point to theposition shown iii-Fig. 1. I After the depressed plunger has moved thecooperating lever to adjus'tthe switch point, the lower, end of'tl1-e;lateh engages the abutment 41 in the trough compartment throughwhich it moves and is thereby swung rearwardly, to such an ex tent thatits tooth 40 moves out of the notch :36 in'the plunger and releases theplunger so that, its spring35 will return it to the elevated position.-As soon as the latch passes over the'abutment, its spring38 swings itupwardly to the inoperative position in which position it extendshorizontally and forwardly across the lower end of the sleeve forengagement by its cooperating plunger when the plunger is again forceddownward- Of. course, if the switch point is al- Since the lever ispivoted intermediate ltS' length, it will, of course,

' atethe switch poin't adjusting apparatus but ifatheswitchpoint is notwell lightedthe V motorman in 'order to be sure of going in the proper"direction .may, pressvnthe proper "plunger :downwardly. In case'theswitch f readyxset ia'thj ropeiposition 'topermit the canto travelintheaproper direction, it

is'not necessary for the mot-orman to operpoint is already set no"adjustment will take 1; 'Ai switch thrower comprising track carriedmechanism adapted for connection place and as soon as the depressedlatchen-' gages its cooperating abutment 41' it will be moved to thereleasing position and its 1 i plunger allowed to return to theinoperative position. Anywater which may "collectrin the housing willdrain out through the open ings42 formed in its bottom.

Havingthus-described theinvention, I claim 2 1 a 1 with a movable switchpoint and including an operating lever, car carried actuating meansincluding an element movable'tol an 3 operative position forengagingsaid lever as a car passes'loiverthe track'icarried mechanism, alatchfadapted to releasably hold said elementin an operativepositionyandmeans, associated with the. track mechanism to automatically .move saidlatch "to 5 an inoperative position after 'said element-has passed outof engagement with said lever.

2. A switch thrower" comprising track 7 -'carried mechanism, adapted forconnection with a movable switch point and including" an operatinglever, 'a housing for saidmechanism, said leverbeing adapted to projectout ofsaid housing, carcarried actuating means including an elementmovable to an operative 'position'for engaging said. lever asa .carpasses over the track-earned: mechav nism, a latch adapted to releasably;hold-- saidvelement in an operative position, and

' .an abutment carried by said housingto en-' gage said latch and movethe latch to a releasing position to permitreturnfof said leverengaging, element tofaninoperative position after passing'out ofengagement actuating1neans releasably held in an p- 7 erative positionto move longitudinally through the trough, and an abutment in saidtrough 'to cause'return of-the actuating with the lever.

A switch throwing mechanism com prising a housing adaptedto be mountedbetween the-rails of atr'ack, an open-ended trough extendinglongitudinally through said housing and opening through the upper Wallthereof, mechanism in saidhousing including a link projecting outwardlyfrom the housing and adapted ,for connection; with a switch point of atrack and op'eratinglevers adapted to be alternately projected int o thetroughxthrough opposite side walls thereof for engagement by'car carriedmeans to aninoperative position after enand ' gaging th ejilever-projecting intoithe moving tlie e'le ver tothrow the switcln point. "1

trough extendinglongitudinally through eluding a link projectingoutwardly; from 4. v.A; switch mechanism I prising a housing. adapted tobe: mounted between the rails of a track, aniopen-ended j eratives"iti'on to is move -longitudina-ll 1 through'the trough, apartitionQe'Xtending V I 7 longitudinally in said .trough,-qand;r,abutia ments in the bottom jof. said. ..t rough 1 upon opposite sides of saidpartitiontocause re-' ff turn of the actuating means to an inoperm 5. Aswitchj throwing l I mechanism QCOIIl-I prisingaehousing adaptedtobeimounted between. therails f'-- of-, azvjtraok' adjacenta movableswitchf'i pointa' an ;;open end'ed-. l trough extending longitudinally"through said housing, a V rocker bar, extending longitudinally insaidhousing and having movement transversely of said trough, switch pointengaging means connected with, one end ofsaid rocker, bar and extendingout of said housing, levers pivotallywmounted in said housing atopposite -sidesi of said trough and connected witho tlie other end-tive'positi0n afteroperative :engagement fr withjthe' leverhertendinginto the trough, ,i

ofs'aid rocker bar. ,and moving in; opposite l directionsjwhen one :is'movedj'said' vlevers being provided with side farms adapted-toalternately pass into .saidtrou'gh: through openings'in the sidesthereof into position for. engagement; by, ear c-arriedi actuating'means moved longitudinally; through ,the-

trough a a a v 1116.;Ar eswitchv throwing{mechanism 'com; prising ahousing adapted yto 'be mounted between the Jrails tor a track adjacenta A movable switch point, an open-ended trough extending longlt'udinallythrough-said hous ing and opening through "theuppenwall, of

vthe housing, a rocker barf extending longi g I tudinallyinfsaid housingand pivotally" V mountedfor swinging transversely beneath" 7 the trough,said trough having opposed' openings in, its side walls, leverspivot-ally mounted in said housing at opposite sidesof'said 'trou h andat one-end formed with side arms a apted 'to pass intotheatrou'ghthrough the openings in the sidewalls thereof, the other endportions of saidi lever's being extended downwardlyand terminat- 7 ingbelow said trough, across barjoining .the' downturnedv ends "of 'saidilevers and extending" transversely beneath said trough pivotallyconnected with one end ot said 7 rocker bar, and a link connected withthe tween the rails of a track adjacent a movable switch point, a troughextending longitudinally through. sa d housing and open at its ends, arocker bar extending longitudinally insaid housing beneath said troughand pivoted intermediate its ends, a link pivoted tomone end-of saidrocker bar and projecting from one side of said housing and adapted601b?) connected with the switch point, ac'rossbar extendingtransversely heneath; said trough and 1 intermediate its length/pivotedto the other end of said rocker bar, andlevers pivotally mounted in saidhousing at opposite sides of said trough for swinging transverselythereof and p-iv otally connected to the-ends said cross bar, the otherend portion of said levers be ing formed with side arms: adapted toalternately project into said trough through op posite sides thereofforengagement by-car carried actuating means moved through said trough.r 1 v 8. A switch throwing mechanism comprising a housing adapted to bemounted-between the rails ofa track adjacent movable switch point, atrough extending longitudinally through said housing and open at itsends, a rocker bar extending longitudi nally in said housing and pivotedintermediate its length for swinging transversely of the trough, a linkpivoted to-one end of said rocker bar and projectingtransversely 105from said trough and adapted for engag 'inent with the switch point,across bar piv'--1 oted intermediate its ends to the other end ot saidrocker bar, and operating means connected with opposite ends of saidcross 11 bar and movably mounted in said housing and adapted toalternately project into said trough for engagement by car carried actuating means moved through said trough.

9. A switch throwing mechanism compris- 1 ing a housing adapted tobemounted between the rails of a track adjacent a movable switch pointand including a hollow side arm open at its outer end and at its innerend communicating with the housing, a trough extendinglongitudinallythrough said housing and open at its ends, a rockerbarextending longitudinally in said-lions ing and pivotally mountedintermediate its ends for swinging transversely of the hous ing, a linkextending longitudinally through said arm with .oneend pivotallyconnected with one end of said rocker bar and'its other end projectingfrom the outer end of the arm and adapted for connection with the switchpoint to imparttransverse movement thereto when said rocker bar ismoved, a

cross bar pivoted intermediate its length to k the other end of saidrocker bar, levers piv-y' otally mounted in said housing at oppositesides of said trough and pivotally connected at their endsto the ends ofsaid cross bar,

said levers having their other end portions.

formed with side arms adapted to alternat'e extend into said troughthrough the sides thereof, and actuating means adapted to be carried bya car and disposed to pass through said trough as the car moves alongthe track and impart movement to said rocker bar by engagement with oneo fsaid levers. V

10w In a car carried actuating mechanism for a switch throwingniechanisnifaframe adapted to be secured in depending relation to a carfloor, a vertical bearingcarried by said frame between the sidesthereof,- a plunger slidable in said bearing and provided'withan'upwardly extending rod of t t/length towprojectthrough the floor ofthe car, means yieldably retaining said plunger in araised inoperativeposition, and'a. latch for a'switch throwing mechanism, a frame adaptedto be secured in depending relation to a car floor, a vertical'hearingcarried by said frame between'the sides thereof, a plunger slidable' insaid bearing and provid'ed with an upwardly extending rod of a length toproject through the floor of the car, means yieldably retaining saidplunger in a raised inoperative position, and a latch pivoted adjacentthelower end of'said sleeve and yieldably held in a'raised' position toextend across the lower end of the sleeve, sa d plunger when moveddownwardly'en gaging the latch and swinging the same ed to be securedbeneath a car floor, an arm extending downwardly from said head plate ata forward incline, a vertical sleevecarri'ed by the lower end of. saidarm, a plunger slidahle in saidsleeve and having a latch receivingrecess adjacent its lower end, a push rod extending upwardly from saidsleeve through said head plate and of a length to extend upwardlythrough the car door, a spring coiled about, said rod and downwardly andinterlocking therewith to downwardly into a depending position forvlocking engagement in the recess of .the

plunger to hold the 'in'a slet'posi-f extending belowthe plunger andadapted to be moved, to' a releasing position through engagement of itslower end With ai'l 'abutinent upon a'traek.

'In testimony Wli ereofl affiic' my signer v ture.

tion and said latch When forced downwardly GEORGE BL ILKINS NQ' 'L'. 8.i

